I see, I thought. So in other words, my experiences since starting have more or less been factored in.
...Now that I think about it, I collided with Liliana right after I started, and then I also fought a Demi-Dragon Worm. I feel like I’ve been taking a lot of near-fatal damage. So I guess these skills are the end result of all of that, huh?
“Well,” continued Nemesis, “even if the experiences and behaviors are the same, there will be differences in an Embryo’s form and skills based on each Master. Also... I think Counter Absorption was derived from your personality.”
“Hm?” I asked. I wonder what she means by that.
“Oh, and another thing,” she went on. “I’ll go ahead and say this myself, but a Type Maiden Embryo is quite rare, you know? You should be grateful to me and reflect upon how blessed you are.”
Oh yeah, that’s right, I realized. Maiden wasn’t one of the normal categories Cheshire mentioned. She seems to be a rare type, and it’s a big help that she’s explaining various things to me, but it’s still somewhat of an iffy feeling having a girl come out of an Embryo that’s based on me.
“Iffy? Did you say ‘iffy?’” she asked huffily.
Ah, that’s right. She can hear my thoughts.
“I can hear them!” she shouted. “Iffy? What do you mean by ‘iffy?’ You hit the jackpot with me! This beauty! This rarity! What could there be to complain about?”
“No I didn’t mean that you were iffy, Nemesis, but the fact that you emerged from me, you see...”
As we went back and forth, Liliana appeared from the exit of Old Reve Orchard. The armor she was clad in was dirty with mud and dust, but Liliana herself seemed to be unharmed.
“Milia!” Finding us, Liliana quickly ran to our side, and after looking at her sister’s sleeping face, she let out a sigh of relief.
“Thank you very much... for protecting my sister... Truly, thank you!” Liliana burst out as tears fell from her eyes.
“Um, yeah...” I said. This is troubling. I don’t know how to respond.
“That’s right,” said Nemesis. “You should be grateful to my Master, and even more so to me.”
And that’s Nemesis for you...
“Is she your...?” asked Liliana.
“Yeah, umm... my Embryo.”
Liliana looked at Nemesis, slightly surprised. “I see. So, after all, as his brother, you’re also a Master chosen by an Embryo. But a Maiden, it’s almost like that...”
Just as she was about to say something...
“All right! I’ve escaped from the bearied underground world!” Bro Bear jumped out from the ground together with a loud sound effect.
“...Ummm,” I said. You were still alive, Bro? Well, his stats were displayed the whole time, just blackened out so I couldn’t tell, but still...
For some reason, Bro Bear wasn’t carrying his Gatling gun, but instead had a shovel in his right hand.
That can’t be how he moved through the ground, can it? I wondered.
“The underground tunnel is now open!” he proclaimed.
Right after he said this, the ground shook slightly, and the sound of something caving in could be heard. The hole Bro Bear had come out of then closed.
“And it caved in right away!”
Oh, shut up.
“You were all right, Bro?” I asked.
“Oh yeah! Me and Baldr’s fourth form tore them to shreds!”
“Fourth? Not the Gatling gun from earlier?” I asked.
“That’s the second form.”
I guess that means there are various forms.
“For some Embryos, you can use their previous forms at will,” Nemesis chimed in. “Brother Bear’s Embryo must’ve been one of those types.”
...Is “Brother Bear” referring to my brother? I wondered.
“Ray, is that blali your Embryo?” he asked me.
He meant “black loli,” shortened to “blali”... Neither of those terms are all that great.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said. “I’m Nemesis, Ray Starling’s Maiden with Arms Embryo. I hope we get along, Brother Bear.”
It appears Nemesis is determined to push through with calling him “Brother Bear.”
“Setting that aside... Bro, if you were alive, I wish you’d come out sooner,” I said. “I was this close to dying.”
A total of about four times, actually.
“That would’ve been difficult,” he said. “Because the whole time, I was locked in battle underground with all the Demi-Drags.”
All the Demi-Drags?
“There were swarms of Demi-Drags bearied in an underground cave,” he continued. “I don’t hate bugs, but that really sent shivers down my spine.”
I stayed silent.
That thing?! Swarms of them...
Good thing I didn’t stick around for long.
“An outbreak of those centipedes... the ‘newbie killer’ is way too scary,” I said. I guess that’s just what you’d expect from a trauma-generating machine.
“Normally there shouldn’t have been even one Demi-Drag living there...” said my brother.
“Huh?” I asked.
“Oh, well. I took care of every one that I found, so they shouldn’t multiply anymore,” he said. “More importantly, let’s head home.”
“You’re right,” I agreed. “Let’s head back.”
And so like that, Nemesis, Bro Bear, Liliana, Milianne, and I all started on our way back.
Due to our close proximity to the royal capital, we arrived in no time. After we passed through the gate, we then parted ways with Liliana and Milianne.
Before leaving, Liliana said, “I’ll be sure to repay this debt of gratitude.”
Milianne, who had woken up, gave each of us a remberry from the basket she had held onto so dearly, and said, “Thank you.”
As I watched the two sisters walk home hand-in-hand...
The message, “Quest ‘Search for Milianne Grandria’ has been completed,” was displayed, and I finally felt like the quest had ended.
“It’s over...” I said, exhausted. I feel like I’ve gone through some crazy danger and chaos right off the bat.